


Mischief Managed

by orgaziam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hogwarts, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:46:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26852410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orgaziam/pseuds/orgaziam
Summary: Zayn is the unfortunate Ravenclaw always forced into trouble, no thanks to his friend Louis. Liam is the strict Gryffindor prefect that refuses to give Zayn detention.And Louis is having absolutely none of it.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Comments: 12
Kudos: 41





	1. Up to No Good

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone, long time no see. hope everyone is well.
> 
> i've been heavily immersed in the harry potter books and movies the past couple weeks, so here's a little fic inspired by the wonderful world of hogwarts.
> 
> and as some of you may know, i can't physically start a fic without somehow blaming something on louis.

As with most things in the world, it’s all Louis’ fault that things go wrong.

No, really. He means it this time.

You see, Zayn really doesn’t mean for trouble. If anything, he’s a pretty laid back guy. If it were up to him, he’d spend his days locked up in his room in the Ravenclaw tower, maybe the library when he wants a change of scenery, reading up about The Second Wizarding War or how to transform into an Animagus. Maybe he’d come out once in a while for a Quidditch match or for a stroll near the astronomy tower. Eventually, Harry would force him out of his warm cocoon to the Slytherin dungeons for a party or down to Hogsmeade for a little fun and adventure. But really, he’d spend most of his time studying or working on assignments for class, immersed in the studies he so loves. All in all, he’d be in his own little world, away from all of the raucous and chaos that can sometimes come with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Except, that was all before he met Louis.

And Zayn doesn’t know how or when exactly he grew so close to the loud Gryffindor, their personalities so different from one another that it doesn’t quite add up, really. But here he is, three hours after curfew, just coming back from the Forbidden Forest because Louis wanted to see if he could spot a centaur, when they get caught. 

And Zayn wishes he could say they’re usually good at not getting caught, that he and Louis can sneak around just fine without any consequences, but the thing is, Louis is just _so loud_.

And Zayn loves him, he really does, like the brother he’s never had. He knows that he could put a stop to it if he really wanted to, could just say no to the boy’s antics and be sure that he would just go pester Harry about it instead. 

The truth is, though, that he loves it. Loves the rush of adrenaline he gets from breaking the rules he’s always so set on following, loves the carefree attitude Louis helps him adopt when they do things Zayn knows they aren’t supposed to be doing. There’s something addicting about the Gryffindor, like his presence breaks out a sense of bravery within Zayn himself that he didn’t know he had in him. He doesn’t think he could say no, is the thing. 

But you’d think they’d have gotten a bit better at sneaking around after four years of breaking rules and getting caught.

“Again, Tomlinson, really?”

Footsteps approach the two boys as they barely make their ascendant up the stairs towards their respective common rooms. Zayn’s cheeks are still pink from the chilly weather of the forest, the cold air clinging to his skin and making him shiver even in his sweater. His heart is pounding, the voice startling him unexpectedly. Louis’ skin is still frosted from the cold, his hair fluffed up as a result of the chilly autumn wind, but his skin is buzzing with energy even as they come into contact with the Gryffindor prefect.

“I just saw you come from the forest last Friday, you’d think you’d learn after I already gave you a full week of detention with Professor Malfoy,” the prefect says. Liam, Zayn’s brain supplies. 

Not that the boy is any stranger to Zayn. The two had met on their first ever day at Hogwarts on the train, crammed into a compartment with four other students. They had hit it off pretty well, but their friendship never went any further after having been sorted into different houses. It’s not like Liam is any stranger to Zayn though, as he’s not only one of the few prefects of the school (which, due to Louis’ mischief means he sees him more often than he’d like to see any prefect in general) and his impressive status of being Gryffindor Quidditch captain despite being only a sixth year.

Zayn’s brow furrows in slight confusion at the knowledge that Louis went to the forest without him, but he doesn’t get much time to think about it as the two Gryffindors quibble before him. 

“I told you, Zaynie here and I were just helping Hagrid with a few things near the forest. We simply lost track of time, there’s no reason to get your knickers in a twist,” Louis remarks. Liam simply raises an eyebrow, his facial expression that of doubt. He doesn’t believe anything Louis says, it’s evident in his face, but Zayn doesn’t really blame him.

“That’s so interesting,” Liam says, not sounding interested at all, “because Headmaster McGonagall mentioned yesterday that Hagrid would be heading up to Norway this morning to take care of some important business.” A small smirk finds its way to Liam’s lips. Zayn bites his lip to keep it from curling upwards as he looks between the two boys before him, awaiting Louis’ miserable attempt to get them out of trouble.

Louis scoffs half-convincingly, “What, you think he’s just gonna leave his pets to fend for themselves? Of course not, that’s why he entrusted Zayn and I to look after them while he’s gone.”

Zayn does his best to school his face into a neutral expression, but his lips betray him as they break out into a small smile. He really doesn’t have the best poker face for these situations.

Liam briefly glances at Zayn after hearing Louis’ statement, finally noting Zayn’s presence as if he’s looking at him to tell whether Louis’ claims are true or not. Zayn’s teeth bite his lower lip on instinct, his cheeks turning even redder. Before he can spew out some lie to go along with Louis’ excuse, Liam continues.

“Very well, then. It’s late, you two better get to bed. I believe we have potions together tomorrow?” He nods in Zayn’s direction, and Zayn fights off the look of surprise at Liam’s sudden nonchalance and mutters out a quick “yeah” in response.

It’s no secret that Liam is a strict prefect, never hesitating to issue detentions when people are out of line. He’s a nice guy, Zayn knows that, but he definitely doesn’t take things lightly when he has a responsibility to uphold. If anything, it’s something Zayn can appreciate about Liam.

That being said, it is definitely strange that Liam is willing to let them go without so much as a detention slip.

Louis, not one to pass up on such a miracle, makes a quick grab for Zayn’s arm and pulls him in the direction of the staircases. “Alrighty Liam, no hard feelings then, right?” the Gryffindor calls over his shoulder. He nods his head in Liam’s direction, who’s still standing near the bottom of the staircases, just watching the two go up.

“No hard feelings,” Liam says in agreement, a small smirk playing at his lips. He turns around and begins walking in the other direction, but quickly turns back around and looks up at the two of them, curling his arms around the bannister.

“Oh, Louis? Almost forgot to tell you mate,” Liam says, loud enough that his voice reberates through the tall ceilings and reaches the two boys hurriedly climbing up, whispering about how lucky they were for not getting written a detention slip.

“Yeah mate?” Louis says half-heartedly, not entirely interested in the conversation but stopping in his climb up the staircase nonetheless. Zayn stops as well, two steps behind Louis and watching the conversation unfold.

“I’ll see you in detention tomorrow for having snuck out tonight. No hard feelings though, right?” Liam says, his smirk a full on grin now.

Louis sputters a bit and Zayn looks back and forth between the two of them, surprised. Liam doesn’t stay long, turning around to go patrol near the Grand Hall. Zayn pushes Louis none-too-gently on the back to get him to start moving upwards again.

Zayn counts his luck that he didn’t get written up this time.

But he just knows he’s not gonna hear the end of it.

.

What do you get when you put a Slytherin and Gryffindor at the Ravenclaw table?

Utter chaos.

What used to be his break from the havoc of exploding potions in class and lengthy Divination papers is now just more madness.

Except, it’s in the form of Louis and Harry.

“Eh juff dofn’t may eny fenf,” Louis says through a mouthful of treacle tart at way too early of a time in the morning. Harry’s nodding along to every syllable as if he can actually understand what the Gryffindor is saying, which, considering their weird dynamic, is probably the case.

Zayn rubs at his puffy eyes, barely able to keep them open long enough to actually maintain eye contact and pretend as though he’s listening. 

He doesn’t think he can stomach any food, not this early in the morning and after barely having gotten any sleep last night (partially due to staying up with Louis, partially because he still had trouble falling asleep at nights).

“Mhm,” he hums, after hearing the two boys speak a little longer. He doesn’t know what they’re saying, let alone if they’re even addressing him, but he nods along regardless.

He feels a foot come in contact with his shin, and he shoots a glare at Harry, the only one out of the two with legs long enough to reach him on the other side of the table.

He gets a sheepish smile in return.

“No, really,” Louis says, washing down a seemingly dry and barely-chewed loaf of bread with some water. Zayn winces at his friend’s disgusting eating, tired eyes blinking at the blue-eyed boy in confusion.

“Harry and I got a week’s worth of detention when we snuck out last week. Last night he gave me another week of detention, but gave Zayn nothing. What’s with that?” Louis says heatedly, pointedly looking towards the end of the Gryffindor table where he’d normally sit.

Zayn shrugs, “I wasn’t the one lying, mate. Did you seriously forget that Hagrid told us he’d be gone this week and we’d have Professor Longbottom filling in for Care of Magical Creatures?”

“Well you weren’t much help getting us out of detention, now were you?” Louis says pointedly.

Zayn smirks as he steals a grape off of Louis’ plate, “I dunno what you’re talking about mate, I got out of detention just fine.”

Louis glares. Harry smiles.

“He definitely has it out for me ever since I pulled that prank on him in third year,” Louis says, eyes glaring daggers towards his own house’s table. “You’d think he’d be over it after he hexed my blanket to stay cold during the winter.”

He turns to Harry, frowning at the smile on the boy’s face. What’s he smiling for anyway? He should be sympathetic for Louis, honestly.

“What are you smiling at?” Louis says, glaring at the fifth year. Harry joined Hogwarts the year after Louis and Zayn, but still fit into their little group just fine. While he was very much the ambitious and charming Slytherin they were typically used to, Zayn wouldn’t have been surprised if Harry had been in Hufflepuff instead. The younger boy was always smiling and accepting of everyone, always patient and loyal to whoever he crossed paths with. How he was so compatible with he and Louis was also unusual, but Zayn still had a fondness for Harry that he didn’t have for any other friend, not even Louis.

“I think Liam’s got a crush on Zayn,” Harry supplies unhelpfully, a bright big smile on his face even after Zayn and Louis shut down the idea with crude laughter.

“What?” Harry says, confusion evident on his face. “You’re telling me you don’t think Zayn could secretly be a veela with his charming good looks? Even I swoon over Zayn sometimes.” There’s a little glint in his eye that shows that he’s just joking, but the slight furrow in his brow shows that he’s still a little serious.

Zayn rolls his eyes but shoots Harry a little smile to note his appreciation at the compliment. 

Louis snorts.

“I think Liam has far too many sticks up his ass to be thinking about Zayn’s,” he says, swatting at Zayn’s hand as he attempts to steal another grape off of his plate.

“Louis,” Harry chastises, not taking kindly to the crude remark. Louis rolls his eyes once more but drops the conversation. 

Zayn hums in thought as Louis starts talking about how Professor Trelaney saw another grim in his cup the day before. The third one this term, it would seem. Harry reaches to take a grape from Louis’ plate. Louis lets him.

They finish breakfast swiftly as class time approaches. Harry and Louis are off to the third floor for their respective Charms and Potions classes. Zayn heads in the opposite direction for his Herbology class with Professor Sprout, giving the pair a small wave as they exit before him. 

On his way out of the Grand Hall, he feels eyes boring into the side of his head. He tilts his head hesitantly towards the direction of the Gryffindor table, hazel eyes meeting dark brown.

Liam smiles at him.

Zayn’s cheeks turn pink. He looks away.

He tries not to think about it for the rest of the day.

(He fails).


	2. Solemnly Swear

.

“Hagrid’s back.”

Zayn would be lying if he said those words hadn’t peaked his interest. He looks up from the book that Professor Malfoy is having them read through to look at Louis curiously. Louis smirks.

“Want to pay him a visit after dinner and see what he was doing up in Norway?” Louis whispers, mindful of anyone who could overhear. Zayn chances a look around the classroom just to be sure, and nods.

They go back to their silent reading, before Professor Malfoy begins his lecture on Patronuses.

Within the next few classes, they’ll be going over how to create and use a Patronus. No one succeeds quite yet, but Zayn does get some blue sparks of light to come out from the end of his wand. He counts it as a win.

When they leave class, Louis throws an arm around Zayn’s shoulder and whines about how he’s not as capable as Zayn is in any class. Zayn knows it’s not true, because Louis certainly has his strengths in flying and charms. 

They knock shoulders on their way through the corridor, laughing and bickering like little kids.

He thinks he feels eyes staring at him again, but he doesn’t find anyone looking in their direction. He doesn’t think much about it.

.

While Louis takes a class on Muggle studies, Zayn is in Advanced Arithmancy studies with a few other Ravenclaw and Slytherin students. Nevertheless, the pair meet again for their fourth and final class that day-- Potions.

They aren’t allowed to sit together because Professor Slughorn claims they talk far too much when paired together. Zayn finds it a little ridiculous because without him Louis is always ruining potions and being sent to the infirmary with burns and cuts everywhere.

But Zayn doesn’t mind the little bit of quiet time he gets to focus on his studies, either. He quite enjoys Potions, and it’s one of his harder classes if he’s not following along closely, so it’s nice not having any distractions. He’ll see Louis afterwards for dinner, anyway.

He takes his usual seat in the corner near the back, where he gets a good look at what Professor Slughorn is doing but can also keep a good eye out on the rest of the students. He often ends up intrigued at what other people are doing-- he’s a people watcher, he can’t help it.

The rest of the class starts piling in after him, but there’s no sight of Louis. Even Professor Slughorn, who is rarely on time, arrives before him. 

Zayn frowns, wondering if Louis had intentions to skip class and not tell him.

It’s not until a few minutes into Professor Slughorn’s lecture on the uses and dangers of veritaserum, that a figure walks in through the doors. Except, it’s not Louis, but Liam that gives Professor Slughorn a sheepish smile when he walks in. His tardiness is unusual considering he’s a prefect, but he takes the available seat next to Zayn without saying a word. 

Zayn isn’t used to anyone sitting next to him ever since he and Louis were forced to sit apart, so that seems a bit unusual, as well, but he doesn’t mention it.

Professor Slughorn simply ignores the interruption, and Zayn tries to focus on the lecture, when another student comes in from the direction where Liam just came. 

This time it is Louis, but he looks far from apologetic as he saunters into the class. He’s fuming, Zayn can tell, as he walks in with a small yellow slip in his hand.

A detention slip.

He chances a look at Liam out the corner of his eye, piecing together the situation that must have occurred outside. Liam is getting his book out of his bag, unaware of Zayn’s eyes glaring into his skull.

When Professor Slughorn asks a question about why veritaserum is banned in Ministry hearings, Zayn forces his eyes away and raises his hand. Professor Slughorn nods at him, smiling proudly at one of his top students.

“It doesn’t work on everyone. Some people can resist its effects while others can’t, so it’s unfair to use in trial. Others can protect the truth from being revealed through occlumency,” Zayn says. He could go on, but he doesn’t want to bore the class with his rambling.

“That’s absolutely right, Mr. Malik. Five points to Ravenclaw,” he announces, before explaining the ingredients and length of time that veritaserum takes to make. They wouldn’t be brewing it for class, he explains, since it is against the laws of the Ministry, but it’s important that they learn about it’s effects.

“Good job,” Liam whispers encouragingly. Zayn gives him a look of suspicion, but doesn’t say much in return. 

He looks over at Louis instead, who’s sitting on the opposite side of the room glaring daggers at Liam, confirming Zayn’s earlier theory of the detention slip. He frowns.

The rest of the class involves discussing timing, ageing, and stirring techniques, without actually brewing anything exciting. Zayn grows a little bored at hearing things he’s already read about time and time again. 

He starts feeling a little drowsy, the lack of sleep beginning to catch up to him.

He rubs his eyes a little, the pads of his fingers feeling cool against his puffy eyelids. He blinks repeatedly to force himself to stay awake, stifling a yawn in the sleeve of his robe.

Liam gives him a concerned look from next to him, “You okay?”

Zayn shakes his head, confused at Liam’s sudden concern over Zayn. It’s not like the two of them to be so friendly, but he assumes Liam is just looking for a distraction from the boring lecture as well.

“Just tired,” he mumbles, stifling another yawn. He assesses Liam’s face curiously, the Gryffindor’s brow furrowing in concern over the admission.

“Are you getting enough sleep?” Liam asks, using his own hand to grab the one Zayn is using to rub furiously at his eyes so he can assess him properly. 

Liam’s lips turn downward into a frown when he sees the bags under his eyes, “You shouldn’t be sneaking out so much at night, you’re clearly not getting enough sleep.”

Zayn tries to ignore the little flutter of energy that sparks at the touch of their hands. Out the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees Louis glaring at the two of him. Zayn gently pries his hand out of the grip and pulls his hand into his lap.

“‘M fine,” Zayn mutters, a little annoyed at Liam. How can he act like he cares what Zayn is up to if he’s out giving him and his friends detentions for every little thing? “‘S not your business what I’m up to anyway.”

Zayn tries to shake off the tiredness but fails.

“I’m a prefect,” Liam says defensively.

“Yeah, ‘m aware,” Zayn says, the annoyance now evident in his voice. He looks away from Liam and back at Professor Slughorn, though he doesn’t listen to a word that’s being said, too busy annoyed at the conversation he’s just had and tired of the lack of sleep.

Class ends after what feels like hours, and Zayn ignores Liam calling after him in favor of catching up to Louis. 

Louis shoots Liam a glare but doesn’t dare do anything, already having a month’s worth of detention under his belt. Instead, he puts his arm around Zayn and leads him through the corridors, off to find Harry before dinner.

.

Hours later finds them right outside of Hagrid’s hut, the gamekeeper seemingly talking to himself inside. It’s not an unusual sight, considering how often the pair finds themselves here. 

The half-giant has had a large soft spot for Zayn ever since third year, when the raven-haired boy was the only one in their class able to calm an irritated Hippogriff. He remembers how nervous he was when Hagrid asked him to approach Buckbeak, but he remembered reading about how Hippogriffs weren’t actually so difficult to tame. If anything, they were defensive because they were often hunted for their rarity and abused terribly.

Yet, despite how nervous he was, he felt a weird gentle pull towards the animal, like he needed to calm the Hippogriff to calm his own nerves. He remembers bowing before Buckbeak and the little bend the Hippogriff did in return, a small snare leaving its beak. Zayn had approached it slowly and carefully, but Buckbeak was the one to reduce the distance between them, nudging Zayn’s hand upwards with his beak. Zayn had gotten the hint and laughed in glee, letting the nervous energy leave his body as he petted the top of Buckbeak’s head. Buckbeak had let out a pleased squawk and Hagrid had been amazed at how quickly the magical creature had opened up to Zayn’s presence.

The rest was a blur of Hagrid lifting him up and throwing him onto Buckbeak’s back. Zayn barely had time to grab onto the Hippogriff before they were taking off the ground beneath him, the other students watching in amazement as the two had soared off into the air. 

Zayn never liked flying on brooms, never saw the appeal of being so high up in the sky. But something about the Hippogriff had left him so comfortable with the wind blowing in his hair, the trees looking like ants as they grew closer to clouds than they did the ground. They flew around the castle twice before Buckbeak had returned them to the secluded area where Hagrid liked to hold his outdoor classes. Zayn had laughed when he rejoined his classmates, Louis and the others staring at him in awe, pestering him with questions asking what it was like. 

Ever since, he’d frequent Hagrid’s hut often, whether to feed Buckbeak or to meet whatever new creature Hagrid was fostering for the week. 

Louis knocked on the wooden door to the small home, which opened almost immediately, as if Hagrid were just waiting on the other side for them to announce their presence.

“Ah, and t’what do I owe the pleasure of you two being here?” Hagrid asks, a fond smile as he stares down at the pair of sixth years.

“We heard you were back from your trip, so we thought we’d come pay you a visit,” Louis says. It’s not entirely a lie. The two spend quite a lot of time with Hagrid, the gamekeeper being one of their favorite faculty members at Hogwarts. But, they also know that Hagrid has some new creature to feed their curiosity, since most of his trips are followed by some new magical creature suddenly appearing at Hogwarts, but it would be rude for them to just outright say that that was the reason behind their visit today.

Hagrid gives them a knowing look anyway.

“Well come in then, you two. Yer curiosity reminds me of some students I had a few years ago,” he recalls fondly, leading the pair inside to take a seat at the small dining table.

For a half-giant, Hagrid sure did live in a small home, but Zayn liked the coziness of it. There were mismatched trinquets and rusty furniture taking up almost every free space of the hut, and there was even a little area for his pet Fang, but it felt incredibly homey. Zayn often found Hogwarts to be a little too overwhelming, with its huge corridors and crowded common rooms, so a little space like Hagrid’s was a refreshing change from the chaos.

Hagrid poured them each a cup of tea. Louis took his cup almost immediately, downing the warm liquid in one go. Zayn preferred his tea sweet, so he muttered a quick charm to add some sugar before taking a small sip, almost burning his tongue. 

He gave Hagrid a thankful smile.

“How was Norway?” Zayn asks him, genuinely curious about the trip.

His family travels around often, having relatives scattered all around the globe. He’d seen most of Europe before he turned 15, but Norway was one of the few places he had yet to see. 

It was too cold for his liking. He doesn’t like the cold very much.

“Ah,” Hagrid says, “I was up visiting an old friend of mine. Norberta.”

Louis snorts, almost choking on his second cup of tea, “What an unusual name,” he says, giving Hagrid a sheepish smile.

Zayn smiles softly, biting back a snort of his own. Hagrid scoffs faux-indignantly. 

“That’s awfully rude, I did name her meself, ya know,” he says, though it’s obvious he isn’t actually offended by the words.

“You have a kid?” Louis asks, shocked.

Hagrid laughs, “No, m’fraid not. Though, I guess in a way she is my little one, huh?”

Zayn and Louis look at each other briefly. “Well if she’s not your kid, what is she?” Zayn asks, not quite sure how to phrase the question.

“She’s a Norwegian Ridgeback,” Hagrid says. 

“A what?” Louis asks, a puzzled look on his face.

Hagrid opens his mouth to respond, but it’s Zayn that answers for him.

“A dragon?!” he exclaims.

Hagrid gives him a proud smile, “And a beautiful one at that. Raised her meself but had to pass her on to a friend many many years ago. They took her off to a sanctuary after they found out I had ‘er here, but she didn’t like it very much so we released her out in Norway with some of her kind. She’s had a few little ones since then, so I decided to go check up on em.”

He approaches a little lump of blankets on the loveseat in the corner, and Zayn can’t help but sit up a little straighter in his seat, excited. He _knew_ something felt a little off about the hut, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

Louis, on the other hand, looks a little nervous.

Suddenly, Hagrid is lifting the very top blanket to reveal a large yellow egg, looking nice and snug as it’s propped up on the bundle of fabric beneath it. Zayn’s out of his seat before he knows it, walking over to the egg and watching it with awe. Louis stands cowardly behind him, intrigued but nervous.

Some Gryffindor he is, Zayn thinks fondly.

“Gotta keep ‘em nice and warm before they hatch,” Hagrid says, explaining the pillow of fabric blanketing the egg. Zayn tentatively reaches out a finger to trace along the ridges of the egg. It feels warm, and there’s a light flutter of movement beneath his finger. 

“‘S so cool,” he says quietly, careful not to disturb the little dragon still in its egg. 

Louis leans in closer to look at the egg, but doesn’t touch it like Zayn does. His eyes are full of both amusement and wonder.

“You just get to keep it here?” Louis asks. “Are we gonna learn about it in class? And will we get to ride it like Zayn rode the Hippogriff third year?”

Hagrid sighs, “Now, now, Louis. I don’t know about this, dragons can be a lot of work, especially when they’re wee young’uns. Yer welcome to come ‘round and help out, but I dunno about ‘aving ‘em in class just yet.”

Louis pouts a little. Zayn is now cupping the egg gently in his hand, still entranced by the flutter of energy that courses through him at the touch.

Hagrid continues, “And I’m not sure how Professor McGonagall might feel about t’is. This may just have to be our little secret, boys.”

Hagrid sounds a little nervous when he says the words, like he’s not quite sure if the boys understand how heavy of a secret this needs to be.

Zayn and Louis give him their word that they won’t tell, their expressions genuine. There’s no way they’d pass up on helping raise a secret dragon.

It’s an hour before they finally leave Hagrid’s hut, asking him questions about the new pet of his. Buckbeak isn’t around for Zayn to see, but there is a thestral that Hagrid lets them feed. 

Zayn can’t actually see it but he can feel its presence. He knows that they can only be seen by those who have experienced loss. Louis’ mom had passed just two years ago, and Zayn watches as the Gryffindor happily feeds the thestral slabs of raw meat that Hagrid had hanging outside. Zayn doesn’t mind that he can’t help. He’s more occupied with the dragon egg anyway, now situated on his lap as he gently cups it in his arms. He doesn’t feel cold, but he keeps muttering heating charms anyway so that the egg is incubated properly.

When they finally leave, it’s dead quiet outside, not even the crickets chirping or ravens cawing as they make their way back up towards the castle. It’s the middle of autumn but it’s a warmer night, the wind barely weaving its way through the sky.

They’re just past curfew when they make it inside, whispering quietly between themselves.

“I reckon Harry will be upset if he finds out we hatched a dragon without telling him,” Zayn says quietly, careful to look around in case they spot Filch or any ghosts.

Louis snorts softly, “He’s always wanted to be a mother.”

Zayn laughs softly, knocking his shoulder with Louis’. The two make it through the main corridor before they hear footsteps approaching.

It’s Liam, but neither of them are quite surprised.

He looks good, Zayn notes. He’s not wearing the robes and dress shirt that Zayn is used to seeing him in. Instead, he’s wearing a gray sweatshirt tucked over some nicely tailored pants, with some brown loafers to tie it all together. His hair looks slightly curlier than this morning, like he showered between his classes and now and didn’t have enough time to style it.

Instead of looking smug, however, he looks a little sad. Zayn can’t quite put his finger on it, but it’s not something that he’s used to seeing from the prefect.

He ignores Zayn completely as he approaches in favor of staring down the other Gryffindor, making Zayn frown.

“I don’t think I even have enough detention slips to give you Louis,” Liam says, voice laced with annoyance as he approaches the pair.

Louis reaches for his wand but Zayn is faster, grabbing his arm and stepping in front of him before he can do anything. 

Liam is one step ahead of them, however, having seen Louis reach for his wand and having his out and ready to use if necessary.

Zayn glares at Louis, giving him a quick, “calm down.” Louis gives him a disbelieving look, like Zayn would dare get in between Louis and his revenge, but he lowers his wand anyway. 

Zayn turns back towards Liam, who still has his wand pointed at him in suspicion. Zayn keeps moving forward, until they’re standing face-to-face and the wand is just barely poking him in the stomach. Liam doesn’t lower it, but the look of suspicion turns into one of confusion instead.

Zayn reaches into the pocket of his pants and takes out the little slip Hagrid had given them just minutes before, handing it to Liam to read.

Liam finally lowers the wand and pockets it, using both of his hands to unfold the piece of parchment. His brow furrows and he squints to read the short message, his shoulders drooping as he looks back up at Zayn.

“We went to Hagrid’s after dinner. We didn’t plan on staying past curfew and just lost track of time. He gave us a note in case we ran into any trouble, said he’d be happy to vouch for us tomorrow if need be,” Zayn says softly. Louis has since stepped forward and Zayn can feel his presence just a few steps behind him, but he’s careful not to say anything. Zayn feels oddly proud of Louis for not going off on the other Gryffindor, but he knows to not get his hopes up quite yet.

“Alright then,” Liam says softly, handing the note back to Zayn. “Filch is on the third floor corridor so just be careful on the way up,” he tells them.

Louis rolls his eyes. “Like you give a shit,” he mutters none-too-quietly. 

Liam frowns and so does Zayn, but Zayn steps away from their little huddle to follow along after his best friend.

He doesn’t get too far before he feels an arm tug him back. Louis doesn’t pay any attention, just keeps walking in the direction of the Portrait hole. He and Zayn’s common rooms are in different directions from one another anyway, so it’s not like he has to wait for the latter.

Zayn looks back at Liam and frowns, tugging his arm out of the grip.

He gives Liam a look, almost questioning what he needs to tell him. He’s sure Liam’s gonna give him a detention slip anyway and let Louis go, probably wants to make things even after clearly favoring him over Louis when it comes to giving them punishments for breaking the rules.

But Liam doesn’t do that. Instead, he gives Zayn a stern look, though there’s a softness in his eyes that Zayn can’t quite place.

“Get some sleep tonight, okay?” he says. If Zayn knew him well enough, he’d say he sounds like he’s genuinely concerned.

Zayn chews on his bottom lip, a little annoyed but doesn’t say anything. He nods once, before turning around and ascending the staircases towards the Ravenclaw tower.

Sleep doesn’t come easy to him that night, but his bed does feel a little bit more comfortable than usual.

He figures it’s a start.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you all enjoyed. as always, comments and kudos are very much appreciated! if you all are interested, i'll be writing the next chapter soon. :)


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